Growling

Sometimes my ideas are brilliant. 

Sleeping in a hammock in below freezing temperatures was not one of them.

I took a gaggle of girls out to a cabin and thought I would get more sleep in my cool camping hammock instead of a cabin filled with giggling. 

I was wrong.

It was almost warm and the moon streaming through the mesh top was amazing, but I ended up freezing my aspirations off. I drifted in and out of sleep curled up in a tiny ball until around 3:30 am when I awoke to this terrible growling right near me. 

There is a moment, if you ever happen to be freezing and terrified, when you appreciate the warmth adrenaline pumping through your body provides. I could stay completely still and warm while imagining that I must appear a bit like a floating burrito to whatever creature was emitting such an ominous sound.

Options are slim when you're hanging in the air and something is growling. I could picture the wolf underneath me wishing he had a side of guacamole and some cheese. I played through all the scenarios and none of them turned out well until my stomach growled again.

I felt slightly ridiculous, but also much more motivated to go curl up in the cabin with the girls. 

One growling experience a week would seem like enough, but then on Friday I worked too long and hiked accidentally in the dark. Our daylight is changing at 6 minutes a day right now so it's hard to track until you are well into the woods and realize you can't see anymore.

It wasn't a big deal. I figured I could get a little further and then make my way to the beach area where it was still a little light.

Then, the dog stops and there is growling again. I couldn't tell if it was coming from her or from near us, but she was scared and I might have piddled a little. 

I again started running scenarios and one of them involved me running, but unless the growling was a rabid sloth I wasn't going to win a foot race. I could probably fight off whatever it is with the poop bag in my hand, but I'm thinking this would not turn out well in the dark.

So, we bushwhack through the woods towards the beach hoping for the best. Nothing got us and we made good time back. 

There are several takeaways from these growling experiences:
1. Don't eat Indian when camping.
2. Wear a watch or at least be aware of when it gets dark.
3. Growling does not produce rational thought or responses. 

I think this last one might be helpful for all of us as we interact with each other. Growling does not make people their most rational. In fact, growling mixed with fear can make us quite absurd and as fun as that is, it doesn't make for good decisions.